Big Deal On Madonna Street

A classic Italian spoof. Vittorio Gassman stars as Peppe, a bungling petty thief who leads a group of incompetent burglars in a plan to loot a jewelry store on Madonna Street. One of the finest examples of Italian comedy to reach American shores (it was nominated for a Best Foriegn Film Oscar in 1958), BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET satirizes all those procedural caper films that Hollywood turned out and the foreign homages that followed (such as RIFIFI and BOB LE FLAMBEUR). The entire burglarizing procedure, as directed by Mario Monicelli, is hilarious, thanks to the fine acting and the steady stream of sight gags that recall the classic comedies of silent days. CRACK...